Pay panel report unacceptable: Unions
The major employee unions are now pressing for "bilateral renegotiations" so that "anomalies" in the proposals are removed before the government accepts and implements the recommendations.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: By a wide reckoning, though the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations are not a munificence, they are not a total write off for the babucracy either. But with poll calculators out in government, employees unions are looking to see if they can get a larger slice of the cake on offer.
With the expected pre-poll gift turning out to be more modest that what expectations whetted by reports of a bonanza had led some sections of employees to hope for, there is danger of the proposed pay hikes becoming a dampener with central government employees charting a protest path to oppose "unfair" recommendations of the pay panel.
The major employee unions are now pressing for "bilateral renegotiations" so that "anomalies" in the proposals are removed before the government accepts and implements the recommendations.
While the Confederation of Central Government Employees (CCGE) dubbed the report "totally unacceptable", the CSSS Gazetted Officers' Association (CSSSGOA) called for a review as "there are unreasonable differentiations made between the same running pay bands and even the instrument of grade pay has not been able to neutralise the impact".
The officers are bothered about being in the same scale for a long time and enhanced salaries not being a sufficient compensation. But lower grade employees are simply asking for more. CCGE general secretary K K N Kutty said the report amounted to "total neglect" of the subordinate level employees while providing "huge emoluments" to senior officials. He claimed the minimum wage proposed by the pay panel was even lower than its fifth edition (1997).
This is contested by officers who point to the job security, housing and health benefits, besides pay which compares better than most private sector outfits can offer.
The unions said dissent was brewing not only in the gigantic central government bureaucratic setup in the capital but also among their counterparts in the states, adding that the impact would lead to dissent even among employees of the various states as they have to ultimately implement the recommendations.
"The alarming level of growing disparity can be seen between the recommended pay scales. After having a look at the minimum Rs 2,550 (total Rs 5,740) and the highest pay (Rs 90,000), we find that the minimum is only about 6.4% of the maximum," CSSSGOA president R S Rawat said in a draft memorandum prepared for employees' preview.
"Therefore 1:12 (minimum-maximum pay ratio) is not a reasonable formula when tested on democratic principles of equity, justice and good governance."
With the expected pre-poll gift turning out to be more modest that what expectations whetted by reports of a bonanza had led some sections of employees to hope for, there is danger of the proposed pay hikes becoming a dampener with central government employees charting a protest path to oppose "unfair" recommendations of the pay panel.
The major employee unions are now pressing for "bilateral renegotiations" so that "anomalies" in the proposals are removed before the government accepts and implements the recommendations.
While the Confederation of Central Government Employees (CCGE) dubbed the report "totally unacceptable", the CSSS Gazetted Officers' Association (CSSSGOA) called for a review as "there are unreasonable differentiations made between the same running pay bands and even the instrument of grade pay has not been able to neutralise the impact".
The officers are bothered about being in the same scale for a long time and enhanced salaries not being a sufficient compensation. But lower grade employees are simply asking for more. CCGE general secretary K K N Kutty said the report amounted to "total neglect" of the subordinate level employees while providing "huge emoluments" to senior officials. He claimed the minimum wage proposed by the pay panel was even lower than its fifth edition (1997).
This is contested by officers who point to the job security, housing and health benefits, besides pay which compares better than most private sector outfits can offer.
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The unions said dissent was brewing not only in the gigantic central government bureaucratic setup in the capital but also among their counterparts in the states, adding that the impact would lead to dissent even among employees of the various states as they have to ultimately implement the recommendations.
"The alarming level of growing disparity can be seen between the recommended pay scales. After having a look at the minimum Rs 2,550 (total Rs 5,740) and the highest pay (Rs 90,000), we find that the minimum is only about 6.4% of the maximum," CSSSGOA president R S Rawat said in a draft memorandum prepared for employees' preview.
"Therefore 1:12 (minimum-maximum pay ratio) is not a reasonable formula when tested on democratic principles of equity, justice and good governance."
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